Sun Valley ID vs. Colorado resort towns for summer living? (Denver: ski resorts, sublets)

[ctr88]

Has anyone spent summers in BOTH Sun Valley/Ketchum and Colorado resort towns such as Vail, Aspen, Steamboat Springs, Telluride and Crested Butte? I live in CA and I have a job where I can work from anywhere a lot of the year and I want to start spending a 4-6 weeks living in a really scenic mountain town that also has a decent amount of stuff to do. I'm a single 41 year old male.

Checking the short term rentals the Ketchum/Sun Valley area seems to be a lot more reasonable than the Colorado resort towns. I have been to Sun Valley briefly just driving through, and also Aspen 17 years ago and Telluride briefly. Have never been to Vail, Crested or Steamboat. I think the views right in the towns of Aspen and Telluride might be slightly prettier than Sun Valley as the mountains are more vertical. But I think north of Sun Valley around Stanley in the Sawtooths is as pretty as anywhere.

Just looking for a place to de-stress and golf, hike a lot, chill, maybe hit a festival or three and drink some pints at the local pub

[wanneroo]

I lived in Vail for many summers and would also spend a lot of long summer days working in Aspen and to a lesser extent, Summit County.

If you are looking for golf, the Vail area is the ticket and it is becoming a great destination for golfing in the summer. Many of the big homes you see, especially in neighborhoods like Arrowhead and Cordillera are vacant mostly in the winter but come alive in the summer time for the golfers. Two of the courses in the valley are public and most of the rest are semi private which accept the public when they have open slots. You've got the 2 public courses(Eagle Vail and Vail), then Beaver Creek, Arrowhead, Singletree, and 3.5 courses at Cordillera. And then another 2 down near Eagle.

Vail has a lot of festivals and things happening all summer and the season really kicks off 4th of July.

I would check with local property management agencies as you can get reasonable weekly, monthly rentals for condos, all furnished and ready to go, in the summertime in Vail.

Sometimes you don't appreciate things as much until their gone and I miss spending summers in Vail. I think it has the best blend of things to do and has the scenery and lifestyle to match.

Aspen has a different vibe. I like it in Summer but hate it in winter. It's a bit more showy than Vail and more "hollywood" but it's a cool place in the summer. Snowmass is really nice as well in summer. I would reckon golfing opportunities for regular folks are more limited in the roaring fork valley than Vail.

[ctr88]

Thanks Waneroo. Vail sounds very good for summers. Aspen is just really high in price for weekly rentals, even sublets on Craigslist are really high. I love the outdoor music festivals (especially rock, bluegrass and blues) in resort towns in summers. Can't think of much I'd rather do that be outdoors listening to some great rock on a 73 degree sunny summer day in the Rockies drinkin' a cold one!

What do you think of Steamboat? Crested Butte may be a bit small for me for 6 weeks.

Have you ever been to Sun Valley in summers? One thing I wish the resort towns in the Rockies had more of is natural lakes for boating. I grew up in Vermont and love the lakes in summers back that way. Whitefish MT area and the Idaho panhandle are the only parts of the Rockies with nice natural lakes, but I think those towns would be a bit boring for me for 6 weeks.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by ctr88

Thanks Waneroo. Vail sounds very good for summers. Aspen is just really high in price for weekly rentals, even sublets on Craigslist are really high. I love the outdoor music festivals (especially rock, bluegrass and blues) in resort towns in summers. Can't think of much I'd rather do that be outdoors listening to some great rock on a 73 degree sunny summer day in the Rockies drinkin' a cold one!

What do you think of Steamboat? Crested Butte may be a bit small for me for 6 weeks.

Have you ever been to Sun Valley in summers? One thing I wish the resort towns in the Rockies had more of is natural lakes for boating. I grew up in Vermont and love the lakes in summers back that way. Whitefish MT area and the Idaho panhandle are the only parts of the Rockies with nice natural lakes, but I think those towns would be a bit boring for me for 6 weeks.

I lived in Steamboat in the winter, didn't appeal to me, so much it soured me on Colorado and burned me out and among other reasons decided to move back east. I found it OK, but it was a huge let down after living in Vail for so long. The times I was up there in summer it seemed a bit quiet and I think that is due to it's location. Steamboat is isolated and off the beaten path and some of the scenery can't compete with a lot of other places. Steamboat has it's fans, but I'd never go back.

Crested Butte is smaller and isolated as well, it too has it's fans, but I've never spent much time there.

If you are interested in the Aspen area, check Snowmass which is 15 minutes +/- from Aspen and I really like it back up in there. Not a huge amount going on in terms of restaurants, but Aspen is nicely accessible.

Vail usually has a steady stream of live music going on during the busy summer months. Aspen also has it's Jazz festivals.

I think if I allowed myself a month to go back to Colorado and stay for a summer month, then I'd go back to Vail without a moments thought. It has the best mix of many things going on, outdoor activities are readily accessible in volume, good restaurants, the weather is nice, it's easy to get to, not hard to get to Denver if you need a city for a day and so on.

Nope never been to Sun Valley, but it is nice up in Idaho and Montana in summer.

[ctr88]

That is good info. Vail will be high on my list of choices. I have heard others say good things about summers there.

[Syringaloid]

Originally Posted by ctr88

Have you ever been to Sun Valley in summers? One thing I wish the resort towns in the Rockies had more of is natural lakes for boating. I grew up in Vermont and love the lakes in summers back that way. Whitefish MT area and the Idaho panhandle are the only parts of the Rockies with nice natural lakes, but I think those towns would be a bit boring for me for 6 weeks.

There are several large mountain alpine lakes near Sun Valley that are popular for boating in the summer time, the Sawtooth area north of Sun Valley is one of the most beautiful alpine moutain areas in the Rocky Mountains imo. There are of course large whitewater rivers in the Sun Valley area too.
Regarding the Idaho Panhandle, have you checked out Sandpoint (ski resort town too) or Coeur D'alene? (with ski resorts nearby)? I would think a person would become more bored in exlusive resort towns vs the two just mentioned. These are both a mix of real town and resort town each, right on the edge of huge deep natural lakes and the scenery and recreational opportunities are out of this world.

Aerial Photographs of Sandpoint and North Idaho



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[jazzlover]

It always amuses me that people want to come to Colorado--and then want to do the crap (golf, tennis, etc.) that they can do anywhere else--instead of enjoying what is unique about this state. If a person is going to come to Colorado, he or she should leave that junk behind and partake of what Colorado is REALLY about, instead of the phony-baloney yuppie stuff.

As to the comparison, I wouldn't spend any more time in any of the places listed than I absolutely had to--they are all phony resort towns. There are a few real towns left in Colorado where people can enjoy the beauty of Colorado without all of the transplanted BS from someplace else. In visiting one of those "real" towns, somebody can say that they know what Colorado really is, not some cartoon version that one finds in an Aspen, Vail, or Telluride. And if somebody can't amuse themselves in one of Colorado's real towns, then they should take a trip to Disneyland instead.

[Idunn]

I cannot speak to Sun Valley, ID, but within Colorado you might consider one of the towns within Summit County. Basically any of them, as the majority, and those of any size, in close proximity to one another in the southern portion of that small mountain county. Take your pick: Silverthorne, Dillon, Keystone, Frisco, Breckenridge, or even Copper Mountain. Each is nice in its own way, with unique advantages, with all enjoying lovely scenery.

With as much close together there should be sufficient activity, whether it is hiking, biking, boating on Lake Dillon, or, for that matter, music. Choose anywhere in the area, and but a short journey to something else happening nearby. That goes not just for Summit County, but in location it makes it easy to visit places such as Vail, or east towards Denver and all the front range has to offer. Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, in example, offers a magnificent setting for live music throughout the summer. Closer to home, Breckenridge has had outdoor concerts, and will surely continue that tradition. Reaching Aspen would be more of a stretch, but possible. If traveling as much, then the longer drive to Telluride for several days would make a nice excursion.

Lodging is always more reasonable in summer than winter, with a good variety of options to choose from in the area. No idea how it compares to Idaho, but surely no more than Vail, quite possibly less, and not as gold plated as Aspen, or likely Telluride.

It would be a wonderful place to spend the summer, or just several weeks. One has the option of most any resort activity, from bars to golf, but the open possibility of long sojourns alone in wilderness as desired. More or less out one's back door.

More information might be gleaned here:
Breckenridge & Summit County Colorado | SummitDaily.com News

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

It always amuses me that people want to come to Colorado--and then want to do the crap (golf, tennis, etc.) that they can do anywhere else--instead of enjoying what is unique about this state. If a person is going to come to Colorado, he or she should leave that junk behind and partake of what Colorado is REALLY about, instead of the phony-baloney yuppie stuff.

As to the comparison, I wouldn't spend any more time in any of the places listed than I absolutely had to--they are all phony resort towns. There are a few real towns left in Colorado where people can enjoy the beauty of Colorado without all of the transplanted BS from someplace else. In visiting one of those "real" towns, somebody can say that they know what Colorado really is, not some cartoon version that one finds in an Aspen, Vail, or Telluride. And if somebody can't amuse themselves in one of Colorado's real towns, then they should take a trip to Disneyland instead.

Huh? I'm not a golfer but what's wrong with golf? There are some stunning golf courses in the Vail area you are probably not aware of, such as Red Sky and Cordillera.

There is nothing phony about Vail or any of the other ski resorts. There are real people there with real lives and there is lots to do. Not everyone wants to sit out in the desert 50 miles from anywhere and bark at the moon, as though that makes you a "real" Coloradan.

[Mike from back east]

Jazz: People get tired of playing the same golf links near their homes. Hell, in Myrtle Beach, SC, there are 125+ golf courses that hundreds of thousands flock to each year to play. Variety is the spice of life. Same for boating, cycling, etc.

And to compare any part of Colorado to anything Disney is to desecrate your own beloved state.